MIAMI (April 25, 2015) – The FIU softball team (28-23) split its senior day double header versus the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles on Saturday afternoon, dropping a close 2-1 ballgame in the first game before turning around to win by the same score in the second of two games played from Felsberg Field at FIU Softball Stadium.
FGCU 2, FIU 1Junior
Corinne Jenkins (17-10) went the distance for the Panthers, striking out three and holding Florida Gulf Coast to just four hits in the loss.
Jenkins froze two Eagles in the first inning to pick up an early two strikeouts before Florida Gulf Coast tried to give the righty trouble in the second inning. With two on, senior
Krystal Garcia fielded a grounder for a force out a third base before FGCU loaded the bases. Jenkins forced a lazy fly out to freshman
Erin Eiland in right field to leave three Eagles on base.
Garcia led off the bottom of the second with a single and eventually got to third base, but the Panthers would be unable to drive her home. The Eagles responded in the top of the third with a two-out, two-run home run to break a scoreless game.
After an extended weather delay, Jenkins retired FGCU in order in the fourth inning, picking up her third strikeout in the process. FIU threatened in the bottom of the inning with Eiland singling and pinch hitter
Michaela Mills reaching via a hit-by-pitch, but both were stranded. Sophomore
Stephanie Texeira made it a two-hit day in the bottom of the fifth, as the first baseman legged out a triple, but Florida Gulf Coast's Shelby Morgan got a glove on a nice grounder to leave her stranded.
Garcia led off the sixth inning with a solo home run to right-center field, which cut the Panthers' deficit to one run, 2-1. The home run also granted the departing senior sole possession of 10
th place all-time on FIU's home runs list.
After a low-key top of the seventh, FIU tried to get a rally started in the bottom of the seventh inning but came up short.
FIU 2, FGCU 1Freshman
Rachel Dwyer (4-3) spun the first 5.1 innings and held the Eagles with four hits before Jenkins came in to secure her first save of the season.
Dwyer worked around a lead-off single in the top of the first and held the Eagles to no runs. FIU capitalized early in the bottom of the frame as both sophomore
Ashley Leon and Texeira reached base and advanced to scoring position off Garcia's sacrifice bunt. Junior
Aleima Lopez plated Leon off a sacrifice fly to left field.
The Panthers capitalized off free bases in the second inning and upped their lead to 2-0. Junior
Dominique Grossman reached on an error on the Eagles' third baseman and eventually came around to score on a hit-by-pitch to Texeira with the bases loaded.
FIU's defense made it a quick fourth inning, as the team turned its second double-play of the game. FGCU played some small ball in the top of the fifth and utilized two sacrifice hits to push its first run across and make it a 2-1 game.
Jenkins came into the game with one out in the sixth inning and picked up two quick outs, freezing and Eagles baserunner at first. She tossed a 1-2-3 seventh inning to secure the win.
FIU closes out its regular season slate with a crucial three-game set in Charlotte next weekend.
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About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 18 different sports, and is a proud member of Conference USA. Athletic events are played in seven different venues on FIU's campuses (Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including FIU Arena and the FIU Football Stadium.
About FIU: Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. It is a public research university with colleges and schools that offers more than 180 bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU contributes $9.8 billion each year to the local economy. FIU is Worlds Ahead in finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission. FIU has awarded over 200,000 degrees and enrolls more than 54,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell, FIU@I-75, and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. FIU also supports artistic and cultural engagement through its three museums: the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, the Wolfsonian-FIU, and the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. FIU is a member of Conference USA and has over 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit
http://www.fiu.edu/.
